15 for 15 Contest, June 2010

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ID: 994771   (Rated: 18+) 15 for 15 Contest --- Closed  Do you have 15 minutes? Come in and join this contest! by Legerdemain

June 3rd, Waiting:

'Look at me,' Laura thought. 'I have my new leather dress boots on, leggings, a scarf and jacket. I'm always freezing in the air conditioning at work and didn't think of removing any extra layers before heading outside with everyone else. At least I did remember my shades, thank God for that.'

Looking around she saw people she knew from other departments, looking bored yes, but not overly hot- like she was. Many had grabbed their sunglasses also. One guy in back of  her, she noticed, even brought some work with him.

At least it wasn't as hot outside as it would be later in the summer, but where was their boss? What could possibly be holding him up? If he was going to be this late, he should have let them stay in the conference room, that would have made more sense.

Finally word came out from their boss's secretary that he got an important call that he had to take and they could return to their desks. Maybe they could try again tomorrow.

Laura decided that if this happened again, she would take an extra five minutes to slip her tennis shoes on, and make sure she was dressed for the warmer weather outside so she wouldn't swelter.

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June 4 - Steampunk

Staring at the ethereal quality of the sky, Bonita realized her feet were beginning to go numb. Looking down she saw that she was on top of something that appeared to be a building, not as high as others in the area, but high enough for her. She wondered how she got there, last she remembered was being in the warmth of her own home.

She was glad she hadn't moved her feet before looking, or she would have fallen to her death, and she wasn't ready to die yet, even though she had no clue where she was. Looking about she saw she wasn't on the tallest building in the area. Across from her there appeared to be a building that resembled a castle, only thing was it had what looked to be rail tracks for cargo of some type.

Maybe it was a place of employment and they got worked to the point of exhaustion in a coal mine. It didn't look like the houses in the distance were anything she'd want to write home about, in fact she wanted to stay as far away from them as possible..

Looking again towards the skyline, she noticed what reminded her of telephone poles and lines back home. The ones in front of her went towards and away from the castle looking building. She wasn't able to see very far away from the building she was standing on to tell where the lines went to, otherwise she may have been better able to figure out what they might have been.

Taking another look at the area she was standing on, she began to wonder what it was used for. It looked as if it served no real purpose. Peering over the edge, she did notice vertical steps leading up to it. They were steps like you would find in the inside of an elevator. Since it didn't seem to have any purpose, she considered that the only possibility would be that it something the rulers used. It would be a good place to make sure people there did what was expected of them.

All Bonita knew was that she was ready to leave, but she didn't know how to get back home. The yellowish light in the sky gave off an eerie look to the place, she didn't know if the sun was rising or setting,but didn't want to stay to find out.

Almost immediately she found herself back in her own home sitting on her couch wondering whether she just had a bad dream.

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June 5 - Figure

Walking into a private room, Mr. Jones hit the dimmer switch so that almost all light was absent from the room. He was preparing for the private showing of the figure that had been in his family for many generations. Thinking about what he had in mind, he began to hum under his breath while he waited for his two guests to arrive. He was hoping that they could continue to be friends, and that the partnership would work out.

George Waskevitch and Sam Varner had told him years ago about a business venture they wanted to try out. Even though they lived decently enough, their debts were high and they figured they would never their debts without risking everything they owned on a venture that some deemed too good to be true.

All three friends had been waiting, somewhat patiently for Alex Jones grandfather to pass away, for they had heard about this statue that was worth more than they wold need for their new business, with leftover money to appease the rest of the family.

Within a few minutes, Alex heard his friends pounding on the front door. He hurried to let them in, he was hoping to keep this from the rest of his family. As he led George and Sam to the darkened room, they both exclaimed in unison.

"What gives, why are the lights dimmed?"

"I don't want to have anyone suspicious wondering what we're doing in here. I've set up a lamp so we may view it properly,"  Alex replied.

"This is what I've been telling you about for years, although I didn't really know what it looked like, I knew it was hidden in a safe and must be worth something.. Can you see any flaws?"

Sam picked it up to look at it closely. Just then someone knocked at the door of the room they were in, startling Sam. Not realizing it right away the statue fell out of his hand, and fell to the ground in a million pieces.

Dumbfounded, Alex, and George both looked at Sam and then all three looked at the floor. Nothing could be salvaged. Their dreams were smashed beyond recognition.

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June 6 - Climb

Deep in the side of the Rocky Mountains a man was rubbing his hands together in anticipation of the events that would be taking place within a few short days, assuming all went according to plan. He pressed the buzzer on his desk and told his secretary haveLouis come to his office immediately.

A few minutes later, Lewis knocked on the door and poked his head in. His boss, Jordan waved him into the room..

"Well Lewis, the time we've been planning for is finally come. I've heard from the prison authorities that the initial five men and two women have begun their trek up the mountain. As you know we didn't plan on having women on this trial run, but now we have no choice."

"Do you think they'll all make it," Lewis replied. "I'm not sure whether I agree that this is the best way to get op's that we can bend to our will to do the jobs that need to be done in the future. I've looked at  the area from the air and it doesn't look like an easy task for someone with full equipment and hiking gear, let alone nude and roped together. What happens if someone dies?"

"If someone does die, then the leader of the group will cut that one free to die out there, and continue on till they arrive. It really isn't all that far, but they aren't being told just how far it is and we can only wait and see their will to live when they arrive," Jordan informed him.

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June 7 - Booby

"Papa, tell us the story again about our origins, the kids at school were making fun of us again."

"Okay, Junior," his dad replied. "I will tell the story once again, like you I never tired of hearing it from my Papa.

"Many years ago, we were known by the two legged creatures as Gannets, which we didn't mind being called. There were quite a few variations of coloring in our lineage, because at one time we all came from the same two birds. Each family of bird evolved based on where their homeland was. If they lived in the marshes, they developed the coloring of the marsh.

"If they hung out mostly at the beaches, then they lost a lot of their brown coloring and bright white was their main coloring. There was a time that we became almost extinct and had to go into hiding to salvage ourselves and our children."

"Papa, you promised to tell us why we have greenish feet. You said we had to be older to hear about that, can you tell us now," Junior asked? "The other booby's at school keep making fun of our green feet, since we're the only family that has them. We learned about one family that used to have red or pink feet, but the history books don't ever talk about green feet, what's up with that?"

"Well, Junior, we don't really know for sure. Your grandpa and the other family members began to wonder if someone in our family tree walked on some painted surfaces since it's such a different color of green. It's a mystery, I don't think we'll ever know how or why we have green feet. You'll just have to learn to appreciate them, and feel good about being different in that regard."

"Fudge Papa, I was hoping it would be a something I could rub my classmates faces in. I was hoping it would be some great reason that we have them. Well, if nothing else, I've had a lot of girlfriends because they enjoy the color."

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June 8 - Horses

"Neigh,"  Alice stated softly as she pranced around the school yard. She was working with the other girls on their 'recess' trying to help them be more graceful horses. There were about four or five of them prancing around the grassy area, getting their exercise for the day.

Alice turned her head and saw two more horses heading her way. They seemed to be dragging their feet if that were at all possible, maybe they were shy or something. Horses...shy? "Neigh." She pulled her head over, away from the newcomers, showing her acquiesce for their approach. As she did so, her mane flew into her eyes and she had to shake her head so she could see again. She hoped they understood her actions.

Finally, she got everyone comfortable galloping around the area, while staying away from the little children and the playground equipment. She knew the kids would like rides, but she also knew her friends weren't ready nor steady enough on their feet to have anyone on their backs yet.

"Rrrriiiinnnngggg"

A few minutes later one of the younger girls asked what they were doing on the playground and Marsha looked around to make sure that Alice wasn't in the area. "Shh, Alice likes pretending to be a horse, so the rest of us joined her."

(True story)

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June 9 - Train

"Honey, how much longer do you think it will be before we can board the train? The children are cold, and we're all tired of standing around waiting."

"Well Busha, I heard the other men saying that we're waiting for another train to come in here in Warsaw that will take us closer to the Baltic Sea. As you know from there we will board a ship to take us to America."

"Dziadzia, I'm glad the whole family decided to come with us, not only our kids but their kids also. The younger children will learn the American language quickly, maybe they will want to teach us what they learn also."

"I hope everyone here will be able to fit on the train when it comes in and not have to wait for another one, as it's too chilly, and there is nowhere warm to stop anyone from getting sick."

"Gather around everyone", Dziadzia said. "I see the train in the distance, we don't want to get separated."

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June 10 - Inferno

"Do you ever wish the house would burn to the ground, so we could get the insurance and build a better house?" Bonnie asked her husband of twenty odd years.

"Wherever did you get that idea, Bonnie?" Joe asked her right back.

Bonnie replied, "I don't think we'll ever get ahead. We talked about replacing the carpets and kitchen floors since they are as old as the house. It seems like every time we get a bit ahead the car breaks down or some other catastrophe happens to stop us from improving our home. Sometimes I really wish it would catch on fire so we could start anew.

"Granted," she continued speaking, "I'm not talking about us doing something purposely to get it to burn, for that would do no good at all. I know it will never happen, so I guess I'll have to quit thinking about it. We'll just have to get better saving our money so we can replace the flooring ourselves.

"The movie is about to start, Bob, why not join me here on the couch. We've not watched a movie in a long time together. I didn't plan this, but I rented 'Inferno'."

"Bob chose to sit in the chair several feet away from her. He was a bit perturbed by her discussion, as he had never heard her talk that way before. He wanted no inferno in his home."

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June 11 - Raft

That was one of the hardest pictures I've ever had to take in my whole life. For one thing I wasn't even sure whether I was in the right place, as I had to hike up the incline on my own and I had never been there before.

My friend Melody and her family has traversed this part of the river every year for over ten years now, and afterwards usually bemoaned the fact that it would have been nice to have a picture at that particular place.

I could see why. It looked dangerous to me even before their raft showed up. I barely had time to get my camera to my face. I had it in my hands ready. Well, it wasn't only in my hands, but near my chin, for I knew I would have to be speedy about it. We had planned this out as best we could. First they went back to the area last year to check out the spot where I was currently waiting. They etched my first name into the rock after tying pieces of cloth to the trees along the path, so I would be sure not to miss the spot.

We decided before hand that they would do their best to be extra quite right before they turned into the part of the river where I would only have a few moments to 'catch' their picture. As they got within a certain area, they would all holler together, giving me the time I needed to have the camera in the proper position.

It worked, see how nice a picture I took. Now they have a momento to keep for the rest of their lives.

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June 12 - Alien

"What's up, Timothy? You know you're only supposed to bother me in the case of an emergency. When I left the lab, every animal was locked securely in their cages. Surely your soft spot didn't cause this problem?"

"No, boss," Timothy replied. I was feeding them as I have every night for the past two months. I don't know what made tonight any different than all the other nights, but the female in cage number twenty-four, slammed her body into the door as I was trying to latch it back up, throwing me off the ledge. When I regained my balance, she was out the door running. She would have been contained in the lab, but right as this happened Jerry came into the lab to see if he could help me out, and the door was still ajar."

"Where is Jerry now," his boss, Mr. Frantz asked him.

"Jerry knew his butt was on the line, so took off running after her. He grabbed his flashlight on his way out, to help guide his way. On his way out the door, he yelled that if needed he'd use the flashlight to hit her on the head to knock her out if she didn't return willingly."

Mr Frantz responded by saying, "Okay, I guess there's nothing more we can do, but wait. Let me know when Jerry returns."


Meanwhile, Jerry was getting awful tired chasing after the she-cub. Considering that she had been held in a cage smaller than her frame, he was surprised at her speed and agility.
Just as Jerry was beginning to think he'd have to stop the chase, he heard her hit the tall link fence that surrounded the property. Huh{/i/}, he thought, I had forgotten about that fence.

He could smell the fear of the she-cub, and he could tell that once she ran into the fence she wasn't moving as if she was electrocuted, although he knew that she wasn't. The fence was a simple fence meant to keep those on the outside out, not the other way around. He put his hand over the flashlight to mute the brightness and approached her softly and quietly. When he felt that he was only a few feet away, he slowly shined his flashlight on her.

He almost fainted at the sight when he found out he hadn't been chasing a she-cub after all but an alien.

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June 13 - Cave

"Junior, look out. Hurry up into this side tunnel - they're coming this way".

"Mom what's happening?"

"Well Junior, you've been missing all the 'fun' we've been having while you were playing with your friends on the other side of the bridge. The new people that have just moved into the house above the ground have been trying to get rid of our home down her in the cave for the past week. We keep making new tunnels, but they squish them about as fast as we make them. We'll run out of space if they keep this up.

"Why mom? I don't understand, why would they want to get rid our home?"

"They think we're rodents, they don't understand that we don't mean them any harm. We just want to be left alone.

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June 14 Concert

"Caller ten? Oh my gosh, I'm caller ten?" Jumping up and down while still on the phone, she couldn't quite contain her excitement at the news. Being caller ten meant she won some concert tickets. The only thing was she wasn't sure which concert she won them for. A friend at work told her about the phone contest.

The tickets were either for Josh Turner someone her husband would enjoy hearing in person, or Carrie Underwood, whom both of them would enjoy.

Finally, after screeching in the poor guys ear, she found the presence of mind to ask, for more information. She then found out it was for Carrie Underwood, good they would both have a good time.

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June 15 - Cat

Looking out her living room window, Josie saw the World forces roaming her neighborhood, She had heard on the news that a large cat had escaped from its cage, and she surely wasn't going to go outside as she had planned for the day to weed her garden. She didn't want to be inadvertently mauled.

The announcer on the radio said that it was a gray and white cat, the largest anyone has ever seen before and for everyone to please stay inside until it was found.

Half an hour later, Josie once again saw the forces, this time they were in her front yard. Of all things they were pointing their guns at a small house cat. The force patrol closest to the cat had his hand down as if giving a command of 'stay' to the cat.

Josie wasn't sure whether the whole thing was a joke, or whether there really were shape shifters as she'd heard and that this small nice looking cat was one of them.

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June 16 - Boat

"Hey Sheila, did you hear about the party Joanna is throwing? She wants to do a re-enactment of her ancestors arrival into the New World. The only problem she's having is her relatives don't want to get involved and some are too busy this time of the year. So she's asking all her friends if we want to help her out."

"That sounds different, Becca. Joanna is always coming up with something new to entertain the rest of us with, what do we need to do to get ready?"

"First off, she wants us to invite everyone we know and let her know who's interested as she wants to get at least one hundred people together for this big event. She says she's trying to line up the TV station to capture the once in a life time event, and she wants everyone to dress in clothing representative of immigrants coming into America for the first time."

"When did her family come to the United States?" Sheila asked.

"She said it was in the early 1900's. We'll be meeting by the pier, so we need to be dressed warm as it might be nippy the day of the party."

Later that week on the evening of the party, well over 100 people met on the beach by the pier. Joanna borrowed a platform for the occasion so she could see everyone and be heard above the waves.

"Okay everyone, I hope you're ready. See that boat over there? We're all going to board it and move away from the beach about half a mile. Then we'll move towards the beach while being filmed by the TV crew."

All around them, there was such a din of comments such as; oh my gosh, that's no boat, that's but a raft, or no way am I getting on that, we'll be sure to sink. People were freaking out all around.

Finally, Joanna was able to quiet them down. She said anyone that was too afraid to join them could go back home. The rest followed her onto the boat that looked like a huge raft. The re-enactment then began.

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June 17 - Frogs

Billy looked across the street towards his neighbors yard wondering what his friends were up to now. Not only was his best friend Cal outside, but he was joined by his other brother and all his sisters. He couldn't tell from this distance what they were up to, but he could see several buckets between their garage and the garage of their next door neighbor.

Billy ran over there to find out what they were doing. As he got closer he could hear one of the girls yelling, "Hurry, hurry, don't let them get away."

Finally Billy walked up right next to Cal to look into the bucket. Inside the bucket was several stones, some water and several clumps of grass.

"Whatever are you guys up to?" Billy asked.

"We're catching frogs," Cal replied. "See we have several buckets and if you look in them you can see at least fifteen baby frogs in each one of them. This is a good area to catch them in. It's shady, damp and for whatever reason there are a lot of them still hopping around."

Billy then thought to ask him, "will you be eating them for supper?"

"For heaven's sake, no. No one in our family has ever eaten frogs and we're not about to start now."

Billy began to crack up laughing, and every time he though he'd be able to explain he began to laugh all over again. Cal and the rest of his siblings looked at Billy quizzically. Finally, Billy was able to contain his laughter enough to talk.

"I didn't mean were you eating the whole frog, but were you eating frog legs."

The End

(of the contest)